A number of studies have
looked at regret with respect
to hookups and have
documented the negative
feelings men and women
may feel after casual sex.

In a large Web-based study
of 1,468 undergraduate
students, participants
reported a variety of consequences: 27. 1 percent felt
embarrassed, 24. 7 percent reported emotional difficulties,
20. 8 percent experienced loss of respect, and 10 percent
reported difficulties with a steady partner (Lewis et al.,
2011). In another recent study conducted on a sample
of 200 undergraduate students in Canada, 78 percent of
women and 72 percent of men who had uncommitted sex
(including vaginal, anal, and/or oral sex) reported a history of
experiencing regret following such an encounter (Fisher et al.,
2012).

Fisher et al. (2012) also found few sex differences inreasons for regret, with better quality sex reducing thedegree of regret reported. It appears the method of askingparticipants whether and when they had experiencedregret (i.e., ever, last hookup, or typical hookup) producesa sex difference, but in terms of categorical presence, mostemerging adults experienced a kaleidoscope of reactions.This is consistent with Stinson’s (2010) message of sexualdevelopment requiring experimentation, including trial anderror, good feelings and bad feelings.

Hook-up culture andmental health

An individual history ofhook-up behavior has been associated with a variety of mentalhealth factors. In a study of 394 young adults followed across auniversity semester, those with more depressive symptoms andgreater feelings of loneliness who engaged in penetrative sexhookups subsequently reported a reduction in both depressivesymptoms and feelings of loneliness (Owen et al., 2011). Atthe same time, participants who reported fewer depressivesymptoms and fewer feelings of loneliness who engaged inpenetrative sex hookups subsequently reported an increasein both depressive symptoms and feelings of loneliness(Owen et al., 2011). In another study, among 291 sexuallyexperienced individuals, people who had the most regret afteruncommitted sex also had more symptoms of depression thanthose who had no regret (Welsh et al., 2006). However, in thesame sample, women’s but not men’s degree of depressivesymptoms increased with number of previous sex partnerswithin the last year (Welsh et al., 2006).

In the first study to investigate the issue of self-esteem and
hookups, both men and women who had ever engaged in an